Michael Fassnacht

A seasoned marketing leader with more than 25 years of experience, Michael works alongside the Mayor’s office as the Chief Marketing Officer to ensure that all marketing, branding, and business development activities for the city are aligned with Mayor Lightfoot’s economic growth plan focused on inclusive growth across Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods. In December 2020, Michael stepped in as interim President and CEO of World Business Chicago to ensure a smooth transition to a new leader while intensifying World Business Chicago’s efforts to attract new companies to Chicago. It became clear very quickly that Michael was the right person to lead WBC into the next chapter and he graciously accepted the full time position in May of 2021.

Tuan Huynh

Tuan is an awarding-winning Creative Director and community organizer. He came to the U.S. as a toddler and refugee from Vietnam after the fall of Saigon. Growing up in the Midwest, he has developed a uniquely diverse sense of creativity. This experience has afforded him recognition from global fortune 500 brands, being named one of the 2019 Most Inspiring Chicagoans by Streetwise Magazine, and being recognized as the Mosaic Champion by the American Advertising Federation. Today, he is able to combine both his experiences in advertising and philanthropic work to elevate his family’s coffee story through his company VietFive Coffee. VietFive Coffee is serving up authentic Vietnamese coffee, grown and harvested in the place of his birth and roasted in Chicago, Illinois.

Sherman “Dilla” Thomas

Shermann “Dilla” Thomas is a fascinating blend of modern historian, cultural worker, and public employee. Dilla is a life-long resident of Chicago’s south side Auburn-Gresham neighborhood, An employee of Chicago area power utility ComEd since 2011, Dilla began making Tik-Tok videos in an effort to bond with one of his 7 children. Dilla came up with the novel idea of producing short videos focusing on the history of Chicago. A subject he has been independently studying for 20 years. The rest of the story is, as they say, history.